Judicial training

Next events for this programme area

Target audience

In many countries, the relatively small
number of patent litigation cases, the rotation of judges between different
areas of law and the absence of specialist patent courts mean that high levels
of judicial expertise in patent matters can be hard to find.

The work of the European
Patent Academy
therefore focuses on promoting legal expertise in the field throughout Europe. It co-ordinates training activities relating to
the theory and practice of patent-related intellectual property, drawing on the
skills and expertise of judges, public prosecutors, court experts, lawyers and
patent attorneys practising before their national courts, as well as law
enforcement officers working in the field of intellectual property.

What we offer

Judges and other legal professionals need to
be able to work from a common level of knowledge and understanding when
communicating with their counterparts in other European countries. Our training
events and discussion forums help participants gain a better understanding of
the main themes, which in turn makes an important contribution to harmonising
patent law application and litigation across Europe.

Our programme includes a variety of training
activities, from seminars on regional IP enforcement and litigation to study
visits to the EPO. Workshops provide an opportunity for judges with high patent
caseloads to meet and share views on important issues of patent law application.
This exchange of views helps us to identify new areas for future training.

Using the dedicated dialogue platforms, European
judges can exchange information about best practice and new ideas in the sphere
of patent litigation and in doing so make a major contribution towards
standardising the application of patent law in the member states of the
European Patent Organisation.